Warhammer 40k: Boltgun is a deliriously fun throwback shooter

Warhammer 40k: Boltgun is a boomer shooter, a term lovingly coined for games that embrace retro aesthetics and gameplay over realism. In short, it’s taking what worked before and adding modern quality of life improvements to it.

I can get behind that. Even if the idea that my childhood is now retro makes me feel old. I’m only in my thirties!

Once past the initial shock of my age, it didn’t take long for Boltgun to win me over. Yes, the look is definitely retro, resurrecting the sound and visual style of early 90s pixel nirvana. But it is also immediately clear that there’s much more happening behind the scenes than just a mere reproduction.

First off, Boltgun plays beautifully. It’s smooth, responsive, and the action combat so rewarding that even quick jaunts into the hyper-violent world are a blast. In this respect, Boltgun nails the pick-up-and-play experience perfectly. It’s never longer than a minute from the moment the game launches to when you’re blasting your first monsters. There is a plot, don’t get me wrong, but Boltgun never lets anything get in the way of a good time. There is purity in that vision, and it feels like a breath of fresh air.

The level design is where the game’s influences most feel their age. At times, there is a frustrating amount of back and forth in looking for items and doors. Occasionally, I found myself repeating the same area, now devoid of any action, simply because it was easy to miss out on where to go. Luckily, the game implements a handy directional guide, complete with a devilishly funny voice prompt, informing you that “The Emperor’s troops are never lost!” It’s that kind of satire that I’m always happy to see in my Warhammer. Confidence above all else, especially when wading knee-deep in alien guts.

Luckily, these complaints are minor, because the game rarely slows down enough to warrant too much wandering. There are hidden treasures and power ups peppered throughout the levels, but I felt they were very organic in their discovery. If you’ve grown up with these types of games, there’s an instinctive feel where to look.

That doesn’t come naturally, though, and it’s a testament to how well Boltgun understands the genre and its audience. This is not pure nostalgia-bait, either. It doesn’t fall back to just recreating the past and calling it a day. If it did, we wouldn’t be able to look up, and I doubt most would enjoy how shooter mechanics of the past feel today.

Instead, Boltgun updates the things that need updating. Even on a controller, the shooting feels tight, and the platforming is a treat. I handed the controls over to a younger generation of gamer, and they kept repeating how much fun they were having with something “so old”. After some choice words about making me feel like a relic, I couldn’t help but agree. Boltgun is a fascinating combination of the past and present, never quite either, but a loving marriage that makes both feel more complete.

On top of that, Boltgun is a delightfully compact package. The main campaign took me just over 10 hours to complete, and that was with a lot of wandering around and taking my time to discover secrets. I don’t think I’ll throw myself back into repeating the experience any time soon, yet that’s not a bad thing, either. This is the kind of game that’s ripe for rediscovery every few years. When going through the backlog and remembering how much fun you had, and sitting down for a few hours to enjoy that rush of adrenaline again.

It is the perfect midway point between bigger-budget DOOM titles, and a fantastic reminder that the Warhammer 40k universe is stuffed with potential. I had a blast with it, and I didn’t expect to. I thought it would be a fine, if unremarkable budget-title upon first inspection, and I’m so glad to be have been wrong.

Warhammer 40k: Boltgun is the kind of title that’s easy to recommend to everyone. It’s an accessible, supremely fun blast from the past that does nearly everything right. In its price range, there’s very little competition that can offer an experience as smooth and polished as this. Do yourself a favor and give it a go.